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US trying to take root in Central Asia after Afghanistan fiasco, says defense chief

Sergey Shoigu noted that it is hard to find a place on the planet "where the US came and stayed for a long time with good consequences"

DUSHANBE, July 28. /TASS/. The US is trying to take root in Central Asia while leaving Afghanistan, where they have lost everything that could possibly be lost, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu told reporters on Wednesday.

"The US declared far and wide that they are leaving Afghanistan. And this is true. But at the same time, they are holding talks with all the countries neighboring Afghanistan on creating some logistical centers and bases for pulling out equipment from there, and of course, establishing centers that could admit refugees from Afghanistan, people who the US cooperated with for many years over there," Shoigu specified.

According to him, it is no secret that these talks "are rather assertive and intrusive." "I can say one thing here, and it’s simply logical: why are you withdrawing if you basically stand there behind the fence, trying to look through the gaps to see what is going on over there? Why leave then? To literally remain on the border? The answer is absolutely clear: this is an attempt to take root in the Central Asian region. Naturally, after losing everything that can be lost in Afghanistan."

At the same time, Shoigu noted that it is hard to find a place on the planet "where the US came and stayed for a long time with good consequences." "For example, did it lead to anything good in Syria and Libya? Things continue to unfold there. In Syria, for example, the country is being blatantly plundered, with oil and other natural resources brazenly exported, without the knowledge of the Syrian state and with no benefit to it," the Russian defense chief said.

On the other hand, there are still sanctions banning the import of oil products to Syria, he noted. "And not only oil products. This includes food, medicine and many other things. So, did anything good happen there? Libya is still split in two to this day, and God willing, the agreements signed and reached in Berlin will be implemented. Naturally, everyone is doing everything possible so that Libya will once again become a peaceful, united, and God willing, prosperous state," Shoigu stated.

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